Bowling! Woo-hoo! – Evan, open

[Hannah Bell]

Hannah was feeling quite comfortable linked with Evan until she was so very rudely disturbed by that elephant elbowed girl that thought she was still his girl. It was obvious she felt threatened by Hannah, otherwise Brittany wouldn't have given her that little extra jab. And that meant there was at least a hint of insecurity, something the blonde cheerleader could hopefully exploit.

The problem was, she was no master manipulator like any of the upperclass girls on the cheer squad. Hannah had little experience with boys, and though she felt pretty comfortable with her body, she hadn't really used much beyond that. For the time being, she simply stayed quiet, stayed in the background, and waited for an opportunity. She simply smiled at Brittany and offered her hand when Evan introduced them. He seemed oblivious to the tension between the two girls, and Hannah wondered if anyone else felt it. They were all quickly distracted, however, when the clown girl bumped into someone and got covered in food and drink.

Hannah's reaction was a combination of pity and giggles. “Awww,” she managed through a few laughs, “You poor thing.” She glanced around at the others, noticing some frowns directed at her for laughing. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta laugh. But she is a clown! Ain't she just doing her job?” Hannah hoped her defense was enough so that she didn't look too mean. She really didn't mean to laugh, but it was a pretty funny coincidence.

Hannah jumped at the idea to get bowling balls with Evan. “Will you help me pick out one that will be good? I just don't know which to pick!” Sure, she knew how to bowl, and that she just needed to find the smallest ball, but Evan didn't know that and it was an excellent chance to pull him off alone if she could. Luckily, she wouldn't have to pretend to be bad at bowling. The few times she had gone, she had definitely gotten more gutterballs than spares and strikes combined.

[Brittany Barnes]

Brittany sort of nodded as she was introduced to the others. She didn't really need to be though. She knew Dare of course, and she knew who Hannah was. She recognized Lexi from school too, although admittedly it had taken her a minute to recognize her underneath the clown makeup. The other girl, Brittany didn't really know, but she assumed she was just a Silver kid. But she wasn't worried about that girl...or Lexi. It was Hannah who'd been arm and arm with her boyfriend.

"Bowling's really not that hard. I think you can figure it out," she snapped at Hannah. She was acting sort of like a brat but she didn't care. Evan seemed more than happy to help the dumb cheerleader. Really?! Was he really doing this, especially after the whole fiasco with Syn? Later on, when she got a chance alone with Evan, she'd have to tell him not to hang out with Hannah anymore...or Syn for that matter, if that wasn't already obvious to him. But she didn't want to say anything now...in front of everyone else.

Luckily, Lexi distracted them from any tension there was by falling into some food. Brittany let go of Evan only to help Lexi, because she actually liked Lexi. She wasn't trying to hit on Evan after all. "You alright?" she asked, "Do you need..." she trailed off as Dare seemed to step in, offering the girl clothes.

Hannah had the audacity to laugh at her and then use the excuse that she was dressed like a clown. Brittany didn't really know why Lexi had been dressed like a clown, but it didn't matter. The point was that Hannah was being the bitchy cheerleader that Brit knew she was. Brittany had to deal with enough cheerleaders to know that she didn't like them and Hannah was no exception. And it really didn't help when Hannah seemed all to excited to have Evan help her pick out a ball.

"You just pick it up and see if it's too heavy or not," Brittany said, "it's not rocket science." She paused a minute, realizing she was being especially mean. Hannah deserved it...but still...the last thing she needed was people thinking that Brit was the mean one and Hannah was the nice one. To Brit, it was clear as day that Hannah was only being fake nice to get into Evan's pants...but what if the others didn't see that. Brittany plastered on a smile, which felt weird because she wasn't really used to acting fake, "I can help you pick one, Hannah," she offered, "after all, I'm the expert. I do work here sometimes." She tried to make herself sound less mean but there was still an edge to her voice. But underneath all that, she was seriously worried. She didn't like being like this...the jealous girlfriend. She'd never been the jealous type before--she'd always trusted Evan, even when he was with other girls. But things were different now. She didn't know if she could trust him...and even if she could, she wasn't sure if she could this soon. The Syn thing had only just happened the other day. And now Hannah?

Brittany couldn't deal with this. It was just too much. She looked from Evan to Hannah, really really wishing that her boyfriend was more perceptive.

[Vasilisa Remington]

Vasilisa nodded at everyone when she was introudced. She took a sip of her drink still feeling a bit ackward. She did hope Mal got here soon that way she could be more comfortable and have someone to talk to. She got her shoes and took off her heels and slipped on her socks and the bowling shoes. "I hope I am good at this, it is has been a few years since I have been to this place" she said with a laugh to the person closest to her. She would have to make the first conversation with someone which could lead to other conversations.

"Do you bowl often?" she asked the person. She looked at the balls and found a nice dark purple one and picked it up. It did not feel to heavy which she remembered that you need find a ball your fingers fit in and the fact that it is not to heavy. She looked at the lanes wondering which was there. "Which lanes were reserved for the party or are we just using one lane?" she asked. She thought everyone was nice and did hope to get to know them better. From what Mal said they would all get along and it would be great to have more friends that is for sure. It was not that she was not a outgoing person somtimes it took her a bit to get to know people in a new situation. She liked to observe and then jump it, that is how she adapted to various new situations and people.

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

The fuss over her was a little too much and things were happening really fast and before she knew it, Hannah and Brittany were in a clash and innocent Evan was caught in the middle. Although she didn't blame Brittany for being so suspicious of Hannah. The blonde cheerleader was so transparent with her blatant flirting with Evan and Evan being so ridiculously oblivious to it.

Thanking Dare and Brittany for being so helpful, she excused herself from both of them. "I have something in my bag of tricks. Thank you so much for recognising my job scope Hannah. I didn't realise that with this costume came such big responsibilities." She gave Hannah a thumbs up with a huge smile on her face that was obviously fake. She dropped the act and walked to her bag that she had brought with her.

Walking through the still laughing crowd, Lexi pulled off her wig and went to the toilet to clean herself up. Once things were out of her clothes, she went out to the counter to ask for a pair of scissors and got back into the bathroom and took out the drabby dress she had worn over her clown outfit before and started snipping away at the bottom part of the dress. She was mighty glad her hair was protected from the sugary liquid so all she did was release it from the tight hairband it was in before holding it under the hand dryer, messing it up a bit.

She buttoned her dress up after using practically all the tissue paper the toilet had to offer and she was done. Lexi stuffed her semi-wet stuff into her bag, thanking god it had a plastic layering so the water wouldn't seep through. Getting out of the bathroom in her new outfit, she had expected them to get over the whole clown fiasco but the laughter was replaced by quiet stares and hushed whispers.

Lexi tried to ignore it and went back to the group she had been with. "Okay. Can we start bowling now? Seriously." She tried once again at her newfound energy. Plastering a big smile, she walked to the area where they kept the balls just in time for the new girl, Vasilisa, to ask her a question. "Yes. I love bowling." She answered as she looked for number 8 balls since those were the best ones for her. "Um I think we've got like a few set up for us. You wanna just get the balls now and go back to the lane we were in? I'm sure Evan knows which ones are reserved for us."

[Evan Hughes]

Just a little glad that Lexi didn’t need his shirt, though he would have happily given it to her, he did look awesome in it, Evan nodded, agreeing to help Hannah pick some balls. It wasn’t the hardest thing in the world to do, but he figured that she wouldn’t know the whole number system, know which ones were light and all, unless she started picking them up. And by the look of her, and the fact that she didn’t bowl, she would need a light one.

So he set off with her, with all of them, over to the balls, still happy to play the role of Mr Miyagi while Lexi changed. Until Brit chimed in. She was being just a little bitchy to Hannah, not that he would ever say that to his girlfriend’s face. It was actually just a little hot, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. She seemed nice to everyone else, just not Hannah, and he wondered why. She was actually kinda all glarey (is totally a word) to the other girl too, though, come to think of it, Hannah didn’t seem too happy with Brit either.

Maybe it was because Hannah was a cheerleader, and Brit had never made her distaste of cheerleaders a secret. And Hannah was on the squad with Aly, so maybe she was obligated to hate Brittany or something. He pondered that theory during their exchange, thinking it over as his girlfriend started to be a little bit nicer.

And then Brit’s eyes slid to him, and Hannah’s did the same. Oh no, no, no, that couldn’t be right. Before he had a girlfriend, most girls didn’t pay attention to him, and that was fine, cause he didn’t pay attention to most girls. They were usually always so focus on their image, and looking pretty, and Evan, with his messed up hair, crumpled clothes and love of anything stupid didn’t exactly fit. Until he met Brit, possibly the most awesome girl ever, who often was the one messing up his hair in the first place, didn’t mind his crumpled clothes, and usually laughed when he did something stupid. He knew he was a lucky man.

So what was with all the girls liking him now, he wondered. First Syn, and now Hannah? If only Patch liked the ladies, maybe his best friend could have helped him out. And help distract. Come on Patch, get your butt here now, he ordered telepathically. No, Hannah couldn’t like him. Cheerleaders liked footballers, rich guys, popular guys. He was pretty much the opposite to who he figured cheerleaders went for. Hannah was just being really nice to him is all, kinda like the way Syn was to him. Dammit. Hannah liked him.

How could Brit work that out before him, and she just got here too! It was so confusing, did he have to be wary of any girl who was nice to him? So that explained why Brit was annoyed at Hannah, especially with everything that had gone on that morning. He had to do something, and quickly, try to make his girlfriend feel better. That was what he was meant to do, he thought, be a good boyfriend and all. But she had to know he wouldn’t do anything, didn’t she? She had to trust him still, he hoped. Cause she was his Brit, and sure Hannah was cute, but she was his Brit.

Trying not to make it look too obvious, he moved directly to Brit’s other side, taking her hand, distancing himself a little from the cheerleader. “It’s ok, you know, you can trust me.” he whispered in her ear, hoping he was right, otherwise he would just seem like a total git. “Besides, you’re the hottest girl in here. I might even let you pull me into the bathroom to make out later. It’s okay babe. She’s just a friend, trust me.”

It was a great relief when he heard his name. Jerking his head up, he grinned at the two girls looking at him. “Hey Lexi, shame about your costume, it was awesome!” he smiled. “Yep, the three down the end are all ours. Do your worst.”

[Ian Baxter]

Ian ran into the bowling alley and glared at Evan because Brit looked upset. He had been going to wait to confront him, but decided it needed to be sooner than later. "Hi Guys," he said with a smile. "Have you all got your shoes? You all should have gotten 1/2 off, if you didn't and still have your receipts, let me know and I will take care of it." He was busy for a bit behind the counter handing out shoes and dealing with the cash register.When it slowed down he went to give Brit a peck on the cheek. "I need to talk to you in Private Evan," he said, his brow indicating displeasure

[Vasilisa Remington]

Vasilisa smiled at Lexi and Lexi seemed very nice. She nodded at what she said to her. She moved her purple ball to the other hand. "I will take purple my lucky color" she said with a grin. She waited for Lexi to get her ball. "I know Even did introductions but I am Vasilisa" she said, "but you can call me Lissa" she told her. She headed back to the lane and sat down and looked at everyone. "Do you think we are going to start bowling soon?" she asked Lexi. So far she was having fun and everyone was so nice. And she was glad that she ran into Mal because if it was not for Mal she would of never be invited and would not be meeting all of these new people.

The tension between the girl named Hannah and the other girl that came in was clear. The one that came in was his girlfriend at least it looked that way and her and the Hannah girl did not get along. She laid her ball on the stand so she could grab it when it was her turn. "I guess we decide ourselves the order" she said to Lexi. "And you okay with the spill earlier?" she asked. She did not want to embarass her more just wanted to see how she was. "It did not ruin your clothes or anything did it?"

[Hannah Bell]

The harshness in Brit's voice was clear, and Hannah got a hurt look on her face. She was surprised by the turnaround and offer to help her find a ball, though. Still, she knew she couldn't trust Brit. Hannah would likely end up with too heavy a ball if she did. “Thank ya for the offer, but I'll let Evan help me out. He told me he'd help me out Thursday, when we had lunch together.” Of course, it was a lot of extra information, but Hannah couldn't resist letting Brittany know that she and Evan had lunch together.

She watched as Evan whispered something into Brit's ear. Hannah could only assume he was telling his soon to be ex to chill out, that she was being way overagressive. Still, Hannah didn't like to see the pair too close together. She reached out for Evan's arm and gently tried to tug him away. “Come on, let's get started! I'm really excited to have you teach me how to bowl.” She tried to appear oblivious to the tension between herself an Brit, as making it obvious would only make things worse. Plus, Evan seemed like the type of guy who just wanted to have fun, and if Hannah ruined fun then he wouldn't like her too much.

The attempt to pull him away was suddenly interrupted by another boy who looked quite cross. He said he needed to “talk” with Evan, which did not seem like it was a good kind of talking. Perhaps it would be the kind with fists, and Hannah wasn't sure if Evan knew how to talk like that. He also seemed close with Evan's ex-girlfriend. Perhaps it had something to do with her? Maybe she had something on the side with him? Hannah made a mental note to ask Evan about that later, when she got him alone.

[Dare Madison]

Dare watched the growing tension between Brittany and Hannah with alarm. He didn't deal well with confrontation well as evidenced by the culmination of the park debacle. Evan was his best friend AND HE KNEW IF THIS CONTINUED, HIS FRIEND WOULD END UP BEING HURT. HE WENT TO lay his hand ON Hannah's shoulder."HANNAH, please let me help you since Evan has PREVIOUS COMMITTMENTS." HE Emphasized the word commitments. He gave the girl his most charming smile. “Please let me, I have always wanted to be a knight to a damsel in distress.” He took her Hand AND URGED HER Towards the Ball stands. He knew she would be unlikely to find him much of AN Exchange. EVAN Was definitely A Masculine, while Dare was rather short and slender. He hoped the fame factor might Make up for that somewhat. Anything to get her cheerleader claws out of his friend.

“There is always a number near the finger holes. This is corresponding to the weight of the ball. You want it to be comfortable to Carry, but not so light that it won’t knock over the pins. So usually if a ball seems light then get the next size up.” He smiled as he gave his little lecture.

[Evan Hughes]

Yep, now that Evan realised that Hannah liked him (though now that he realised this, he was surprised he didn’t notice before, it seemed kinda obvious. But still, really, she was a cheerleader! And he was...him. He wasn’t the jock type. So why?), being her with both her and his girlfriend, when Brittany was annoyed at the other girl (at least he hoped she was annoyed at Hannah and not him, he didn’t do anything after all!) and Hannah still hopeful for ‘private tutoring’ wasn’t at awkward at all. No, not in the least, no sirree. All completely natural and normal and not at all uncomfortable. He wished that anyone, anyone would come up and distract them or something, ease some of the tension that even he felt. And if he felt it, you know it had to be big.

So he could have kissed Ian when the guy gave just the interruption he needed. Except that Ian didn’t seem in the mood to be kissed by Evan. Or hugged even. In fact the guy looked kinda moody. Couldn’t have anything to do with the whole Syn incident, cause though Evan realised she would have probably told him, Ian and her were close friends after all, that thing was long over, and Brit wasn’t angry at him about it anymore, so there was no reason Ian would be either. So he had no idea why Ian would be angry. That must be it! He wasn’t angry with Evan, but at something else, and maybe he wanted Evan’s advice. That had to be it.

He was even more glad when Dare came and pulled Hannah away to help her with the bowling balls instead. Cause if he had to go off with Ian, he didn’t think that it was a good idea to leave Brit and Hannah alone together. “Okay, sure thing Ian.” he grinned cheerily, brushing a kiss against Brit’s lips before walking off with her bandmate. “Will only be a sec babe!” he called out over his shoulder.

On their way to somewhere ‘private’, Evan, being Evan, got distracted and had to make a few detours, something which wouldn’t surprise anyone who knew him for longer than 57 seconds. “Oh, wait a sec, gotta say hi! I mean, I helped plan this shindig, gotta make friendly and all.” he grinned enthusiastically, rushing off to the nearest new people.

It was closer to 10 minutes, not a sec, when Evan returned to Ian, the same grin on his face that he left with. Even after his encounter with Jess. “Hey! Okay, back now.” he pointed out, as if it wasn’t obvious. “Okay, let’s go, get our talk on.”